2015-2016 Curriculum Thematic Unit:
Grade: 12TH
Course: English IV_
Time: 20 days
Unit: Gothic Literature
Essential Questions: What are the elements of
Gothic Literature?
Unit Overview: In this 10 day unit, students will study elements of Gothic Literature and
write a research paper on Gothic Literature.
Vocabulary: Gothic, horror, character
development, tone, conflict, etc.
Skills: comparing, analyzing, writing a research paper
Standards:
Suggested Activities:
CCRI.12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual
evidence to support analysis of what
the text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the text,
including determining where the text
leaves matters uncertain.
CCRI.12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of
a text and analyze their development
over the course of the text, including
how they interact and build on one
another to provide a complex analysis;
provide an objective summary of the
text.
CCRI.12.3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or
sequence of events and explain how
specific individuals, ideas, or events
interact and develop over the course of
the text.
Craft and Structure
CCRI.12.4 Determine the meaning of words and
phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative, connotative, and
technical meanings; analyze how an
author uses and refines the meaning of
a key term or terms over the course of
a text (e.g., how Madison defines
faction in Federalist No. 10).
CCRI.12.5 Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness
of the structure an author uses in h
CCRI.12.6 Determine an author’s point of view or
purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is
particularly effective, analyzing how
Resources:
Day 1
The teacher will introduce students to the Elements of Gothic
Literature via PowerPoint presentation.
Students will view Michael Jackson’s videos of “Thriller” and
“Ghost of Jealousy.” Students will identify elements of Gothic in
the videos. Students also will go online and look for movies that
they have seen at the Nelco or other movie theater and identify
scenes from those movies that are Gothic and write about
them. Students will write about the scene and use elements of
Gothic Literature to help them identify with the lesson. Then,
students will share their responses with the class in a
discussion.
Assign one of suggested novels: The Picture of Dorian Gray by
Oscar Wilde, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, or The Strange
Case of Jekyll and Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
“Elements of Gothic”
PowerPoint with guided notes
videos of Michael Jackson
“Thriller,” and “Ghost of
Jealousy.”
Teacher’s choice of gothic
novel such as
The Picture of Dorian Gray by
Oscar Wilde
Frankenstein by Mary
Shelley
The Strange Case of Jekyll
and Hyde by Robert Louis
Stevenson
2015-2016 Curriculum Thematic Unit:
Grade: 12TH
Course: English IV_
Time: 20 days
Unit: Gothic Literature
style and content contribute to the
power, persuasiveness or beauty of the
text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
CCRI.12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources
of information presented in different
media or formats (e.g., visually,
quantitatively) as well as in words in
order to address a question or solve a
problem.
CCRI.12.8 Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in
seminal U.S. texts, including the
application of constitutional principles
and use of legal reasoning (e.g., in U.S.
Supreme Court majority opinions and
dissents) and the premises, purposes,
and arguments in works of public
advocacy (e.g., The Federalist,
presidential addresses).
CCRI.12.9 Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and
nineteenth-century foundational U.S.
documents of historical and literary
significance (including The Declaration
of Independence, the Preamble to the
Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and
Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address)
for their themes, purposes, and
rhetorical features.
W.12.3
Write narratives to develop real or
imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, well-chosen details,
and well-structured event sequences.
W.12.3
Write narratives to develop real or
imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, well-chosen details,
and well-structured event sequences.
Engage and orient the reader by setting
out a problem, situation, or
W.12.3a
Day 2:
Students will read “Feather Pillow” by Horacio Quiroga in class.
Students will take notes on this story via PowerPoint
presentation. Students will draw the “little thing” that they think
is in the story and identify the Gothic elements in it from
“Feather Pillow” by Horacio Quiroga.
“The Feather Pillow” Selection quiz
Homework: Read the Short story “A Good Man id hard to Find”
by Flannery O’Connor
Days 3-4:
Introduce literary terms such as grotesque and irony and story
vocabulary using a PowerPoint with biography on the Southern
grotesque.
Allow students to ask questions about the story to clear up
misunderstandings.
Divide the students into 5 different groups. Each group will
answer a question from the text and report it to the class.
1. The grandmother thinks that taking the Georgia-based
family to east Tennessee would make them "broad" by
"see[ing] different parts of the world.“Looking at how
travel changed in the grandmother’s lifetime, what is
O'Connor's tone here in her characterization of the
grandmother? How does O'Connor's humor come
through in this passage?
2. Read page 2, the section that begins “Tennessee is a
hillbilly dumping ground…. To the end of the page.
Now, answer these questions in your worksheets.
What does the grandmother mean when she says, "In my
time" at the beginning of this passage?
What does the grandmother's use of these words suggest
about the racial views she holds? (Pickaninny is also a
derogatory term)
“Feather Pillow” by Horacio
Quiroga.
Selection Quiz (See attached)
2015-2016 Curriculum Thematic Unit:
Grade: 12TH
Course: English IV_
Time: 20 days
Unit: Gothic Literature
How does the grandmother represent the South's earlier
times by using this word?
Flannery O'Connor once said that, "while the South is
hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted"
What might O'Connor mean when she says "Christhaunted"? Why "Christ-haunted" instead of "Christcentered"?
What passages of "A Good Man is Hard to Find" support
O'Connor's claim about the South?
3. Title suggests a quest = grandmother tries to save herself
by “saving” the young man.
Bailey's family literally sets out on a journey, the family
vacation. How does the road trip function as a metaphor
or symbol of this journey?
What might the road trip (and the specific images of the
country road) symbolize based on what you have learned
from the story at large?
4. Find at least 5 examples of the foreshadowing in the
story.
5. The Misfit states that he is called that because his crime
did not justify his punishment.
In what ways is his name appropriate for him?
In what ways is the grandmother, who follows the old
ways, a misfit herself?
Essay Due Day 9: Write an essay in which you analyze three
literary techniques or techniques Flannery O’Connor uses to
characterize both the grandmother and her attitude toward
other characters in the story.
Homework: Read “Where You Going, Where You Been?” by
Joyce Carol Oates
Content Connections:
2015-2016 Curriculum Thematic Unit:
Grade: 12TH
Course: English IV_
Time: 20 days
Unit: Gothic Literature
Days 5
“A Good Man is hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor Selection
quiz
Introduce literary terms such as irony, symbolism,
foreshadowing.
Allow students to ask questions about the story to clear up
misunderstandings.
Divide the students into 5 different groups. Each group will
answer a question from the text “Where You Going, Where You
Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates and report it to the class.
1. Discuss the title of the story. What is the significance of
the questions? Who might ask these types of
questions. Read the Bible verse Judges 19:17. Is there a
correlation? Judges 19:17, King James Version (KJV)
2. Discuss the character of Connie and explain her family’s
dynamics. She is impatient to assert her independence,
and Arnold Friend is more than willing to help her. What
are her flaws and shortcomings? How is she a typical
middle-class teenager? Do you see any symbolism in her
name Connie is short for “Constance”? Is she to be pitied,
scorned, applauded or what? Why is Arnold Friend so
strangely attractive to her?
3. Discuss the very complicated character of Arnold Friend.
Oates has admitted that she was inspired to write this
story by a murder and rapist known as "The Red
Piper of Tucson," whose case was profiled in the March
4, 1966 edition of Life magazine.
Is he simply a bad guy, or is he evil personified? How do
the physical descriptions of him paint a picture of
death-like qualities? Do you believe that Arnold Friend is
as omniscient as he claims? Do you see any allusions
(biblical or otherwise) in Arnold Friend's physical
description? Do you see any symbolism in his name?
(Hint: play around with the letters. What do you get when
you remove the two R's from his name?)
Selection Quiz (See attached)
2015-2016 Curriculum Thematic Unit:
Grade: 12TH
Course: English IV_
Unit: Gothic Literature
4. Describe Arnold Friend's car. Color, markings, flaws, etc.
What does a car typically symbolize to teenagers? What
do you make of Friend's funky jalopy? What do you
suppose the numbers painted on the side represent?
What do you suppose will be the NEXT number in the
series?
5. Discuss the irony in the story. How is Connie's reaction
different from what you would expect of a typical
victim of abduction? Connie goes almost willingly, as
some sort of bizarre heroic gesture. Do you believe that
she goes with Arnold Friend to save her family? Do you
believe that Arnold Friend has any real power over her
family? Is this a story about reality or about deception?
Day 6:
TSW Compare and Contrast between “A Good Man is Hard to
Find” by Flannery O’Connor and “Where You Going, Where
You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates and compose a paper on
these two stories and analyzing elements of Gothic literature.
Students will utilize a peer editing group in class to help with
writing problems such as: subject-verb agreement, weak topic
sentences, verb tense etc. Students also will read their paper
backwards in order to find and fix mistakes in their grammar
and writing.
Days 7 -20
The teacher can either divide the students into different groups
and each group reads a different novel or the teacher can
choose one novel to read, analyze, and discuss as whole class
endeavor. Each day the teacher can vary the reading strategies
to break the monotony. Students should also engage in active
reading strategies to increase comprehension.
Gothic novels include:
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Time: 20 days
2015-2016 Curriculum Thematic Unit:
Grade: 12TH
Course: English IV_
Unit: Gothic Literature
The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde by Robert Louis
Stevenson
The teacher will introduce the novel assigned to the students.
The students will engage in literary circles, Socratic seminars
and group discussion about various aspects of the novel
including theme, symbolism, grotesque etc.
Below are activities for each suggested novel:
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
1. In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, discuss
the different ways in which Dorian is shaped by his
picture. How does the amazingly accurate portrait
ultimately gain control of the life of its subject? Use
details from the novel to support your conclusions.
2. Put the students into pairs and ask them to read the
title of Chapter 1 ‘An Extraordinarily Beautiful Young
Man’. Have them list specific qualities that make
someone appear beautiful. When they have finished,
have some of the pairs read their lists to the class. See
if other students agree or have different qualities on
their lists.
3. Dorian says ‘I have done too many terrible things in my
life. I am not going to do any more.’ (p. 56). In small
groups, students answer these questions: (a) Do you
believe what Dorian says above? (b) Can you think of
ways people can get forgiveness for earlier bad
behavior?
Final essay topics:
Dorian Gray destroys three people before they die: Sibyl,
Alan, and Basil. Write an essay in which you show how the
relationship Dorian has with each one is responsible for
their destruction
Time: 20 days
2015-2016 Curriculum Thematic Unit:
Grade: 12TH
Course: English IV_
Unit: Gothic Literature
Write an essay in which you examine how the portrait of
Dorian Gray is used as a symbol in this novel.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
1. Because the setting and characters in Frankenstein are
so intricately tied to the culture of Shelley’s time, it
would be useful to review the patriarchal system and
the educational theories of Locke and Rousseau with
students prior to reading the novel. A discussion of
these topics is found in Walter James Miller’s foreword
to the Signet Classics edition of Frankenstein, “The
Future of Frankenstein.” Ask students to read Miller’s
essay and take Cornell Notes by drawing an inverted
capital “T” on a piece of paper. On the left side of the
vertical line they will label Miller’s main ideas. On the
right side, they will record supporting details. At the
bottom of each page, under the horizontal line,
students will synthesize their notes into a oneor two
sentence summary. Students should be sure to include
the following topics:
 The male pursuance of goals against all odds
 The role of women as passive and dependent
on men
 The usurpation of female reproductive power
by science
 John Locke’s “tabula rasa,” or “blank slate”
theory of individual character
 Rousseau’s philosophy that society is
responsible for the development of individual
character
As a formative assessment, student summaries can be
posted on the wall or shared via document camera.
2. The horror story is just as popular today as it was in
Shelley’s early nineteenth century England. What is the
appeal of this genre? Discuss elements from
Frankenstein that parallel characteristics of modern
horror tales such as Stephen King’s, or contemporary
films such as Nightmare on Elm Street. What are the
effects of these elements on the audience, and how
might that explain our fascination?
Time: 20 days
2015-2016 Curriculum Thematic Unit:
Grade: 12TH
Course: English IV_
Unit: Gothic Literature
3. Why are there so many references to sickness and
fever in Frankenstein? Trace these references
throughout the novel. What broader theme might
Shelley be expressing?
4. Create Frankenstein cartoon strips to retell the story.
This could be done in a computer graphics program.
Essay topics for Frankenstein



Write an essay discussing what Frankenstein learns
throughout the course of the novel. How do his goals
and plans change as the novel progresses?
Analyze a character other than Frankenstein or the
creature. What is his/her role in the story? Is he/she
necessary to the novel? Why or why not?
What parallels exist between the creature and
Frankenstein?
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1. In order to explore how persons can engage in both
positive and negative behaviors, students can free
write about a time when they showed kindness to an
animal or another person and then about a time when
they were cruel or unkind. After they have written,
students should privately read their journals to analyze
why they might act in these opposite ways at different
times. With the class, students should analyze the
causes of different types of behaviors. What causes a
person to act in such radically opposite ways and what
does this suggest about human personality or human
nature?
2. Dr. Jekyll decides to test his theory of the two sides of
human nature by performing an experiment on himself
with potent drugs. He knows death is possible but
decides the potential knowledge is worth the risk.
Today scientists explore the possibilities of cloning and
creating life. Bring in an article from a newspaper or the
Time: 20 days
Grade: 12TH
2015-2016 Curriculum Thematic Unit:
Course: English IV_
Unit: Gothic Literature
Internet that discusses advances in cloning or genetic
manipulation. After reading and discussing the article,
engage students in a structured debate about the
issue.
3. Students can note their responses to the story in a
double-entry journal for each chapter. Direct students
to divide their paper in half with a vertical line. On one
side they write one or two quotes from the chapter that
strike them as most interesting. On the other side they
write why they chose the quote. What does it mean?
How does it add to their understanding of the
characters or events?
4. Determine how the author’s use of allusion to Biblical
stories and literary references contribute to the story’s
themes and events. Cain and Abel or Damon and
Pythias
Essay topics









Describe the relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
How is the relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
important in conveying the theme of duality?
How does Stevenson portray the hypocrisy of Victorian
society in the novella?
Dr. Jekyll’s final fate is determined by what events?
How does Stevenson use descriptive language and
suspense to create a mood of terror?
Why did Stevenson tell the story in third person rather than
the first person? How effective is that?
Analyze the progress of Dr. Jekyll experiments and
transformations. How does his character change during the
experiments?
How does Jekyll view his relationship with Hyde? Is his
analysis accurate or flawed? Why or why not?
Analyze the role of the supporting characters. What is their
importance and how do they impact the progress of the
novel?
Time: 20 days